To Heal
by Kurohane Ookami
Summary: He didn't realize how badly he needed a healer until he had one. Slight AU, Baymax/Hiro fluff if you maybe squint.


**So…I know I shouldn't really be posting anything new when I'm having enough difficulties updating my other works, but I was bitten by the BH6 bug. Badly. As in I was bawling my eyes out in the theater when I saw it. **

**Summary: He didn't realize how badly he needed a healer until he had one. **

**Slight AU, Baymax/Hiro fluff. **

-;-

Hiro Hamada was a complicated boy.

As long as he could remember, he had been surrounded by family. His Aunt Cass, as scatterbrained as she was, Mochi, the fat cat that he was, and…

Tadashi.

Tadashi had always been Hiro's rock. Whenever the small, raven haired boy had been caught by the idiots in the bot fighting rings, his brother wouldn't always be angry with him. For Hiro, this was an outlet to get his energy out. To be doing something with himself instead of staying in his room all day building god knew what half the time- Aunt Cass was conspiringly joking about him building something to take over the world whenever it happened.

No, Tadashi would not be angry. Disappointed? Worried? Of course. Hiro was a child genius. And because of his small size and age, he would always fret when his baby would disappear during the evenings. And when he reappeared, sometimes sporting an odd bruise or scrape, Tadashi wouldn't say anything, because the wide grin of glee on Hiro's face spoke of the fun that he'd had. Instead, he would grab the first-aid kit and patch up the wounds, an odd half-smile on his own face as he did so. In a lot of ways, Hiro was just like he'd been when he was younger.

Of course, when Hiro had gotten older and Aunt Cass began having her suspicions of what her youngest nephew was doing whenever he claimed he was going to "study group", Tadashi had to change tactics to play the part of irritated protector to Hiro. And, like they had always done, Tadashi would get out the first-aid kit, now worn with the frequent use, and patch up his little brother like he'd always done.

Which was what had inspired a thought that slowly bloomed in the back of his mind, of a new robotic invention.

So, whenever Hiro was away at school- his final year, he might add- Tadashi would get out his notebook and trusty sketching pencils and begin thinking of his newest project. If he worked this out right, he could change a lot of things for the better.

And when he finally brought the idea to the group he called friends- they'd all thought it was fantastic. Wasabi offered some of his own tech if he would need it, and although it was a thoughtful gesture, what Tadashi had in mind had no use of lasers or anything along those lines. No, what he had in mind was something much…more.

Gogo, surprisingly, was the one who had taken the most interest in Tadashi's project, and the short biker could usually be found hanging out in Tadashi's lab when she wasn't trying to improve her bike. Occasionally, Tadashi wondered if she would ever make it fast enough to her needs.

Eventually, however long it took, the being he affectionately dubbed "Baymax" came into being.

And everything about the bot was just as he'd imagined.

Of course, this was only the frame. The most difficult part was going to be the programming. Sure, he'd had experience with it in the past, but so far, Tadashi had never attempted to create something so…intelligent. This was not just a mere drone, this was an actually part of himself that he was using to create a conscious, empathetic being.

A healer.

The first…ten or so tries at the programming, Tadashi approached with optimism. Baymax was going to be the first of his kind- until now, this kind of programming had never really been fully conceived.

But he was going to change that.

During his later trials, much to the amusement of Gogo and Fred, Tadashi's enthusiasm began to wane. Nothing he did seemed to be working in Baymax's programming, and the number of failed simulations began to take over the small accomplishments he'd done. Sympathy began to be the primary emotion he was greeted with when he came in to work on Baymax, everyone knowing how important this was to him but not really knowing how they could help.

No matter what he did, there was just too much to do and not enough motivation. On top of that, there was a thick layer of frustration. What was he doing that he couldn't get Baymax to operate functionally?

Surprisingly, the answer came from Aunt Cass. Which had been a shock to the both of them when Tadashi had leapt up with an exclamation of triumph, given the woman a tight hug, and run out the door of the café.

That was it.

While Baymax was programmed to be a healer, what he lacked were the actual emotions needed to drive him to heal. That had to be the reason for all of the failure he'd endured through the trial runs.

No one really knew what to think when Tadashi tore through the labs and began doing something with a programming chip for the next several hours, but what they did know was that this time, something was different. Tadashi was like a hound on the scent of a rabbit- once he got it, he wasn't about to let it go.

Several hours turned into an all-nighter, but finally, _finally_, when Baymax finally onlined and successfully worked, Tadashi nearly lost it in his relief. His friends, concerned about their friend's mental state considering how many months that he'd been working on Baymax, came to see what was going on.

Honey, from the moment she set her eyes on Baymax, fell in love with the gentle bot. Likewise, Wasabi was all but entranced at how _human_ Baymax seemed, despite his programming.

But that had been the secret all along.

Tadashi's relief and happiness caused everyone to share it with him, and while there were still some of the smaller programming details to finish, Baymax was operational. In fact, he became something of the group's medic whenever one of their experiments went wrong, which only continued to uplift Tadashi's complete joy that he'd done something short of the impossible.

Hiro still didn't know about Baymax either. Despite everything, Tadashi was still insecure about showing his brother the invention that had come to be thanks to his little brother. Would he think that he was going to stop helping him whenever he came home from the bot fighting rings?

So he waited until Hiro practically handed him the reason to show Baymax. As of late, Hiro had been getting into more and more riskier fights, with the consequences becoming more severe. And it was Tadashi's own concern that managed to override his insecurities of Baymax.

When he offered Hiro a ride to the next bot fight, (this being after they were arrested after Hiro's previous fight) he had zero intention of actually doing so. And while there was a decent measure of guilt in deceiving Hiro, this was one of the cases where he had to be the responsible big brother. They had gone far past the fun little bot fights that Hiro had been in when he was younger. Now he was actually in danger every time he stepped out the door thanks to past rivals.

Luckily enough for him, Hiro had an unnatural curiosity that enabled him to be easily distracted from his original plan, and quickly became acquainted with all of the members of Tadashi's group of friends. Wasabi and Gogo in particular seemed to be the ones whose projects of their own captured Hiro's interest, and to be honest, Tadashi wasn't all that surprised.

And then there was Baymax. Tadashi couldn't help but get a small amount of satisfaction out of ripping duct-tape off of his brother's arm thanks to all of the misery he'd put him through that night, but it was quickly gone as Baymax activated. Pride was the dominant emotion in this case- Baymax was flawless, and Hiro's amazement was clear. The only thing that would make this trip better was if he could actually convince his brother to apply to the university instead of continuing to go to bot fights and possibly not make it back one day. So when his professor showed up and showed interest in Hiro's micro-bots, it really didn't even mean he had to do anything to get his little brother to want to apply.

What came next was weeks of Hiro groaning as he tried to think of something to build for the exhibition. Many nights were spent with Tadashi watching from his half of the loft as Hiro banged his head against his desk in frustration, a small smile on his face as he did so. He had confidence in his little brother- all he needed was the right kind of motivation. Then, he knew, Hiro would create something extraordinary.

-;-

Pride. Watching Hiro present his project was one of the most incredible things that Tadashi had seen in a long time. Especially because he knew that Hiro had never really been one to enjoy spending time in the spotlight. He was more of an extrovert when he was focused on something, but other than that, he tended to be withdrawn and sarcastic. Not exactly unusual, considering it seemed to run in the family, but at the same time, it was good to see Hiro displaying his creation with such confidence in himself. He even told him such after his baby brother hopped down from the stage, only to be swarmed by the rest of the group, Honey pulling him into a hug before Aunt Cass could. It didn't really matter in the end, though- Aunt Cass caught him before he could escape and nearly smothered him.

Likewise, from Hiro's perspective, all he could feel was pride. He'd managed to get through this without freaking out, and it was thanks to Tadashi that he had. His older brother had always been there for him- always making sure he didn't get into too much trouble, making sure he was happy, making sure that he wasn't injured before sending him to bed after bot matches. Tadashi was his everything. While Aunt Cass was making the best of being a single adoptive mother, she wasn't really truly the comfort that Hiro needed. Tadashi knew him better than anyone else.

They were closer than anyone else thought, too, he thought to himself.

But then _it_ happened.

The fire.

In an instant, Hiro's entire world collapsed around him, sending him spiralling downwards.

The initial shock of the explosion didn't wear off for months. Since he had been so close to the building when the explosion had happened, he had suffered from a concussion and a fractured wrist when he landed on the hard ground. Lucky, they called him. It could have been much worse.

How could it get any worse when he'd lost his big brother?

He stayed in a perpetual state of barely functioning- he barely ate, rarely ventured outdoors unless his Aunt coaxed him into it, and when he spoke it was usually in his nightmares. Visions that had him murmuring in his sleep and on the rare occasion, having full conversations. Sometimes his Aunt would come check in on him to make sure he was doing alright, but for the most part, nothing.

It was a full month and a half before Hiro finally rediscovered Baymax.

It was stupid, really, but seeing that oversized bot stirred something in him- something that he wasn't willing to face. And at first, he played it off as denial. But all too soon, he realized that no matter what he seemed to do, there was a tiny, persistent part of him that was trying to escape the prison he'd mercilessly locked it in.

Happiness.

He was happy to see Baymax.

He didn't deserve happiness. It was because of him that Tadashi was…

No.

Brutally, Hiro stamped it down and put it back into the furthest corner of his mind, refusing to acknowledge it. And it stayed that way for a while. But while he was still grieving, the world would continue to spin around him. And that was what he held onto with both hands.

Revenge was the next thing that drove him forward. Someone had set the fire on purpose to get his micro-bots, and because of that person, his brother was dead.

The days passed in a blur of anger and manipulation- while Baymax was created for healing, Hiro could only see the narrow path that stretched on ahead of him. Everyone was going to be a means to get revenge for Tadashi, to bring himself to the closure that he desperately longed for.

But even he knew that he'd crossed the line when his anger overcame him- he'd done the unthinkable.

He'd removed the humanity from Baymax, reducing the healer to the warrior that Hiro had made him to be. And because of it, he'd hurt the people around him even more than he had before. If it hadn't been for Honey's compassion, Hiro didn't even want to think of what could have happened. But despite that, Baymax had forgiven Hiro for what he'd done- it was in his nature to forgive. Something that Hiro simply couldn't understand. He'd hurt everyone because of his single-minded need for some kind of closure that he didn't care who got in the way.

But…

Tadashi.

Baymax had showed Hiro every single piece of footage from the beginning of Baymax's trial runs, showed him the brother that he desperately needed to guide him, and made him rethink everything he'd done. Tadashi wouldn't want him to be trying to get himself or his friends killed. He would want him to live. All of them- Honey, Gogo, Wasabi, Fred… all of them were still there, hadn't given up on him even though he'd tried so hard to push them away.

That tiny part of himself that he'd locked away stirred again when Gogo pulled him into the gentlest embrace he thought he'd ever been given, her silence strength to the boy. Because that was what he was- a child- gifted, forced to mature far earlier than anyone ever should.

And in those moments, he allowed himself a weakness. He allowed himself to be comforted, because that was what he really needed to begin his healing. Only begin, thanks to the still stolen micro-bots that were being wielded in ways that weren't all that different from Hiro's own turbulent emotions.

Baymax was his rock- the others were the support beams. With them at his side, he would never fail again. And while there was still much ahead of him, he knew that he would be able to do it. Tadashi would never be forgotten, because he was still there. The video logs he left behind, his lab, his room, his memory. True, it hurt. It felt as though his heart would always be splintered and damaged and taped back together. But now that he realized that not everything needed to come to violence, he just might begin to move on.


End file.
